Srinagar: A Sessions Court in the city on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to a man for rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl at Rajbagh here in 2007.
The court of 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Srinagar pronounced life sentence to the convict, Zahoor Ahmad Sheikh of Akhrajpora Rajbagh, under section 302 RPC (murder). The court also sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment of seven years for offence punishable under section 363 RPC (kidnapping), and 10 years rigorous imprisonment for the commission of crime punishable under section 376 RPC (rape). “The sentences shall run concurrently,” ordered the judge.
According to police investigation, Zahoor was a distant cousin of the victim and was staying in the same house where the family of the deceased lived. On August 23, 2007, the accused followed the victim when she was sent out by her father to bring cigarettes and bread from a nearby shop.
Sheikh lured her to a nearby vacant migrant house where he raped her, and later bludgeoned her to death by hitting her in the head with bricks. He also tried to burn her body, states the prosecution.
Subsequently, a charge-sheet was filed and the trial ended in conviction of the accused Sheikh.
The court said “it is established that the accused (Sheikh) at the time of occurrence was major, a grown up aged more than 20 years. He has committed the heinous and barbarous crime of rape and murder of a girl aged about 7 to 10 years, who was not so much healthy”.
It added that the victim was kidnapped in a planned manner by the accused by offering her toffees, some of which were found lying at the place of occurrence (crime), because she was innocent and could not understand the design of the accused.
The court observed that the crime against the victim child girl was “crime against the society”.
“This act no doubt had invited extreme indignation of the community and shocked the collective conscience of the entire society,” it added.
